This is the archive for FairVote's periodic newsletters highlighting some of the latest developments in the world of electoral reform and news about FairVote's own research and analysis. For FairVote's Innovative Analysis series, which offers a fresh, accessible perspective on our core issues, click here.

FairVote: March E-News

Greetings! There were many encouraging developments in March, ranging
from Arkansas to California. In recognition of International Women’s
Month, FairVote is also casting a spotlight on how full representation;
instant runoff voting and the right to vote affect women in the United
States.

Highlighted
new commentary and articles: Congressman Jackson on Tompaine.com,
Richie & Hill in San Francisco Examiner, more

Upcoming Events

David Moon
will speak on the benefits of full representation voting systems in
boosting representation of women at American University, Washington
College of Law

FairVote
executive director Rob Richie will speak at Yale’s “Lessons From the
Past, Prospects for the Future: Honoring the 40 th Anniversary of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965”

Steven Hill
will be a featured speaker at the Arizona League of Women Voters
meeting in Tucson

FairVote Update

IRV AmericaThree is a crowd in our current voting system. Our plurality election
process, where the candidate with the most votes wins, becomes
dysfunctional when more than two candidates seek one office. Instant
runoff voting (IRV) elects candidates who have majority support,
accommodates voters having better choices and encourages winning
candidates to reach out to more people. IRV America supports
implementation of IRV in elections across the United States.

Spotlight on Mary Robinson, Ireland’s first female president: an illustration of Instant Runoff voting at work

Thanks to instant runoff voting, Mary Robinson in 1990 became the first woman to be elected president of Ireland.

Robinson began her political career as Senator in the Seanad Éireann
(Upper House of Parliament) from 1969–89, and founded the Irish Centre
for European Law in 1988. She sought the presidency as a Labour Party
candidate in the 1990 election. Having received 39% of first choices,
she trailed her chief opponent, Fianna Fail candidate Brian Lenihan, by
5%. However, after the elimination of third-place candidate Austin and
the second round of counting, Robinson won handily. She gained the
votes of 205,565 (77%) of Currie’s 267,902 supporters. Her total share
then stood at 53%, proving she was clearly preferred over Lenihan.

Robinson was immensely popular as president, both within Ireland and
abroad. In 1997, toward the end of her term, she resigned the
presidency to take up appointment as United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights, where she served until 2002.She now directs the
Ethical Globalization Initiative, an organization established to
support human rights, and serves as honorary president of Oxfam
International and chairs the Council of Women World Leaders.

In 1997, Mary McAleese became the second woman president of Ireland,
also depending on the second choices of supporters of other candidates
for her victory.

Arkansas law provides instant runoff absentee ballots

Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee signed legislation earlier this month
providing that overseas military voters will receive instant runoff
ballots in all of Arkansas’ federal, state and local elections that
might have a runoff. Championed by State Representative Horace Hardwick
(R-Bentonville) and passed with only one dissenting vote in the
legislature, HB 1770 solves a problem for overseas military
voters who too often miss out on a chance to vote in runoff elections.

Commonly used for federal and state primary elections in southern
states and for mayoral elections in cities around the nation, runoffs
often take place too soon after the first round to provide time for
runoff ballots to be printed, mailed and returned in time to count.
This September, for example, New York City likely will have a
critically important runoff in the Democratic primary for mayor just
two weeks after the first round.

Arkansas now joins Louisiana in providing IRV absentee ballots to
overseas military voters. Louisiana extends this protection to absentee
voters to all overseas voters and military voters who are stationed in
another state. In 2004, some 10,000 Louisiana voters received IRV
ballots. At a time of war, with a large number of National Guard
members serving in nations like Iraq, all jurisdictions with runoffs
should follow the lead of Arkansas and Louisiana.

IRV adopted by students at U-Oklahoma, Portland State and Dartmouth, and IRV at work at U-Virginia

Students at Portland State University overwhelmingly approved of IRV
for key Associated Students races 79%-21%. 1All the major candidate
slates supported the measure. "Every school that looks at this loves
it," said ASPCU Communications Director Tony Rasmussen. "It's a very
non-partisan issue."

Dartmouth’s Student Assembly wasted no time in preparing for their
upcoming IRV election, having approved its use just weeks ago. “Our web
team has actually already put together an IRV site in record time,”
Dartmouth’s David Hankins wrote to FairVote. “We've been testing it and
it's working very well. [We have] thought of seemingly every voter
error and system failure scenario, and it's fully integrated into our
existing election website.”

The University of Oklahoma is also holding its first IRV elections for
president of its student body this week. You can track the results
on-line.http://elections.ou.edu

Anthony Lorenzo of Sarasota, Florida is an example of a new generation
of instant runoff voting activists who are having a major impact in
their communities.

“We tried to stress they were allowing the voters to decide,” wrote
Anthony Lorenzo in an email about his recent meeting with Sarasota, FL
city commissioners, “that they could leave a window for implementation
of a couple years if need be, and that ES&S has been through this
process before and had experience succeeding, as well as experience in
developing the software.”

Most city commissioners said that they would put IRV to a ballot
referendum if software were already approved by the state, saying they
don't want to pass something they cannot implement. Anthony’s group is
asking for a vote of the commissioners, which will allow public
comment. If they do not adopt, they may move forward with an initiative.

They have organized volunteers to be at precincts passing out flyers to
each and every voter who goes in and out to bring the information
directly to them. They covered the two precincts with the highest
turnout last election.

Anthony has started a statewide coalition called the Coalition for
Instant Runoff Voting (CIRV) and is also reaching out to the editorial
board of the Sarasota Herald Tribune. Several Florida newspapers have
come out for instant runoff voting.

Instant runoff voting legislation is advancing in the Washington State legislature.

In a 63-34 vote, the state house of representatives passed House
Bill 1447, establishing a pilot project to allow Vancouver to implement
instant runoff voting. In 1999, Vancouver voters approved a charter
amendment that gave the city council the option to establish IRV.

A more comprehensive bill introduced by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (SB
5326) that would provide home rule charter cities with the ability to
choose to use IRV has, passed the Senate by 29-16. Both bills have now
moved to the other house and could pass this legislative session.

FairVote Commentary in Washington Post

IRV America program associate Steven Hoeschele
wrote a strong commentary for the Washington Post’s Sunday
“Outlook” section that advocates instant runoff voting in the Virginia
gubernatorial election, where a strong independent candidacy by a
Republican state senator this year has led to talk of “spoilers” and
split votes.

Political Empowerment ProgramOur nation's strength flows from its willingness to innovate and
improve upon the American experiment. For decades, a critical component
of this progress has been more inclusive government through the
ingenuity of full representation voting systems. The Political
Empowerment Program seeks competitive legislative elections that better
represent America’s political diversity, communities of color, and
women through full representation electoral systems.

Spotlight on Denise Simmons:Cambridge city councilor elected by choice voting

Cambridge (Mass.) has used the choice voting method of full
representation for its city elections since 1941. In 2001 and 2003
choice voting helped Denise Simmons, an openly gay African American
woman, to gain a place on the city council. She is one of two African
American members of the council. African Americans have had
continuous representation on the council for decades despite
being less than 20% of the city’s population.

Although she did not receive enough votes to be elected in the first
round in either election, choice voting allowed Simmons to benefit from
the support of eliminated candidates and win a seat. Simmons has worked
to bring women’s issues to the attention of the council, supporting
city sponsored efforts to increase access for women owned businesses to
the city's bidding process, and winning endorsements from Boston NOW.

National coordinator the Feminist Majority Foundation and FairVote
board member Katherine Spillar asserts that full representation is
crucial in giving women a fair share of seats in government:

“Where full representation systems are in place, women's representation
increases. In the US where single-member, winner take all systems
dominate, women comprise only 14.8 percent of congress and 22 percent
of state legislatures. We rank 59th in the world for women’s
representation, behind European nations such as Finland, Norway and
Germany, and developing countries such as Rwanda, Cuba and South
Africa. In countries where legislative bodies are elected under
full representation systems, women on average do far better.”

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
(IDEA) has collected data on women’s representation in legislatures
around the world, showing how countries using full representation
consistently elect more women to office. Full representation makes it
easier for female candidates to win races because it encourages parties
to field more balanced slates of candidates and lowers the threshold
needed for election. In addition, it is easier for political parties to
set minimum levels of female representation under full representation
systems.

Stuck with a winner-take-all election system, women in the United
States lose out on fair representation. Full representation could be a
crucial factor in bringing the number of women in government more in
line with other industrialized democracies.

On March 7, the City of Davis Governance Taskforce voted 8-1 to
recommend choice voting for City Council elections. The taskforce will
present a report to Davis City Council on April 5. If the council
accepts the findings, the citizens of Davis will get to have their say
on choice voting in a ballot measure.

The choice voting campaign has attracted widespread support from the
community, as well as from University of California Davis students. UC
Davis already uses choice for student government elections.

Common Cause and Demossupport full representation in redistricting reform

Common Cause and Demos both urge lawmakers to look at full
representation in conjunction with independent redistricting as a means
of achieving fairer elections. Independent redistricting can do much to
reduce the damage caused by partisan gerrymandering. But unless there
is some provision for multi-member districts and full representation,
the approach is limited in its ability to increase overall
competitiveness or ensure racial, ethnic or political minorities fair
representation.

Common Cause’s redistricting guidelines call for states pursuing
redistricting reforms to “consider the creation of proportional
representation systems [e.g., “full representation”] and multi-member
districts. Proportional representation systems can more
accurately reflect the will of a district's voters by allowing voters
in the minority to win a share of representation alongside voters in
the majority.” In “Drawing Lines: A Public Interest Guide to Real
Redistricting Reform,” Demos states that “Alternative voting systems,
such as multi-member districts with proportional or cumulative voting
could lessen the need for such dramatic trade-offs by allowing for
meaningful competition in areas where one racial group or political
party is dominant.”

FairVote has done more than perhaps any other organization to trigger
understanding of how our “no-choice” legislative elections are
grounded in the partisan imbalance in most districts. We believe
elections should be conducted in such a way as to maximize competition
and voter choice, and to result in elected bodies that truly reflect
our nation’s diversity. We thus support legislation to create
independent redistricting commissions that do not use the line-drawing
process to safeguard incumbents or make political gains, so long as the
commissions are also prepared to consider multi-member districts and
full representation solutions.

As an example of the result of its new policy, FairVote has endorsed
New York Assemblyman Mike Gianaris’s Redistricting Reform Bill (A
6287), which would help to end party control of the line-drawing
process. Crucially, Assemblyman Gianaris recognizes that this step,
while important, is not the only improvement needed to our election
system. The bill retains the option for future reform in the form
of multi-member districts and full representation systems.

This month, students at Lewis and Clark College, Portland Oregon voted
to adopt full representation for their student council elections. In
the future, all multi-seat offices will be elected using choice voting,
and all single-seat offices using IRV.

The college’s student President, Landon Mascarenaz welcomed the move a
chance to widen access to student government, saying, “There are a lot
of latent activists on this campus… [This change] will give people a
chance to get involved.”

Vendor Guidelines to Ensure Voting Equipment
Capacity to Run Ranked-Choice Voting Methods: Detailed information
about the technical requirements necessary to run IRV and choice
elections using voting machines.http://www.fairvote.org/index.php?page=777

Voting Rights Act Reauthorization: As the campaign
for Voting Rights Act Reauthorization in the 109th Congress gears up,
FairVote reports on what this means and why it is important.http://www.fairvote.org/index.php?page=828

Full Representation Around the World: Read about
full representation elections taking place around the world, and
worldwide campaigns for election reform in FairVote’s collection of
international news articles.http://www.fairvote.org/index.php?page=53

Right to Vote InitiativeThe right to vote and to cast a free and secret ballot is the
foundation of American democracy. Yet, in light of the last two
presidential elections, it has become all too clear that our voting
system remains flawed. The Right to Vote Initiative seeks to ensure
that the right of every U.S. citizen to vote is firmly established in
our Constitution and that our voting system is fair and equally
accessible to all Americans. It urges the government to make universal
voter registration a priority to ensure clean and complete voter rolls.

Spotlight: A call to consider gender differences in voting policy

Gaining the right to vote has enabled women to achieve social, economic
and political gains over the last eight decades. Because women have the
right to vote, women have fought both as voters and as elected
officials to open the doors of opportunity for women and girls in both
school and work. They have championed fair credit, tougher child
support enforcement, equitable pay, and retirement income. And they
have led efforts to promote women's health and protect victims of
domestic violence and sexual assault. There is little question
that without the 19th amendment granting women suffrage, title IX and
equity in school-based athletics would not exist.

Women remain extremely underrepresented in elected office, however.
Although women outnumber men in population, women make up only 15% of
Congress. While many social, economic and political factors play into
why fewer women are in elected – one of the central ones being use of
winner-take-all elections rather than full representation --, one
factor is often ignored: election administration policy. More
women are registered to vote then men and more women vote (7.5 million
more in 2000), but millions of potential women voters are adversely
affected by current laws..

The Right to Vote Initiative proposes a series of commonsense reforms
to make our democracy more inclusive of women, as well as making it
easier for women to vote. They include:

A combination of Election Day as holiday, early voting and easier
absentee voting All voters must be given more opportunities to
vote. If voters
have a few days as compared to a few hours to get to the polls, for
example, working women, single mothers, and homemakers alike will be
able to vote regardless of their busy schedules.

Universal voter registration and steps
toward it such as voter registration stations in all welfare offices
and part of early childhood/head start programs Recognizing that, statistically, unmarried, low income women are the
least likely to be registered, making voter registration as accessible
as possible is critical to ensuring that more women are able to cast
their vote. We should move toward joining most modern democracies that
have established universal voter registration.

Election Protection and Democracy Expansion: A Constitutional Reform
Agenda for the New Century. FairVote program director David Moon will
speak on the benefits of full representation voting systems in boosting
representation of women and communities of color. Part of forum
organized by FairVote board member Jamin Raskin that runs from 4:30 to
6:30

Friday April 22FairVote executive director Rob Richie will speak at Yale“Lessons
From the Past, Prospects for the Future: Honoring the 40th Anniversary
of the Voting Rights Act of 1965”

Saturday May 7State League of Women VotersState organizations will convene around the nation in their
bi-annual conference. Long-time FairVote senior analyst Steven Hill
will be a featured speaker at the Arizona League of Women Voters
meeting in Tucson. FairVote executive director Rob Richie will
address the League convention in Maine.

FairVote Staff UpdateSteven Hill, Caleb Kleppner, and Dan Johnson-Weinberger have played
immensely important roles at FairVote over the years. They continue to
assist FairVote, but are no longer paid staff. Steven is now an Irvine
Senior Fellow with the New America Foundation (and a frequent co-author
of commentaries with FairVote’s Rob Richie), Caleb has helped found
Election Solutions (www.electionsolutions.com) and Dan is practicing
law in Illinois. Thanks to all three of them, and a special
congratulations to Kleppner and his family, who recently brought their
new daughter Lila Kleppner into the world.

We welcome Chris Pearson as director of our new Presidential Elections
Reform Program. The program is based on the belief that our elections
must be rooted in the principles of equality, competitive choice and
one person, one vote. Working on both the federal and state level, the
program will support national elections for president, changes that
allow fair access to the airwaves for candidates and a more inclusive
primary calendar. In Congress we support HJ Resolution 36, which
would establish majority elections for president in a nationwide vote.
We oppose other proposed amendments that would enshrine the potential
for non-majority winners and the “spoiler” dynamic in the Constitution.

FairVote has also begun a new and timely initiative to work towards
implementing full representation voting systems in California working
with Chris Jerdonek and Rob Dickinson

Finally, Communications director Ryan O’Donnell will hop the pond
shortly, bound for London where he will work for two months with the
Electoral Reform Society and FairVote board member Ken Ritchie as
Britain gears up for its general elections in May.

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